Dispensing apparatus



May 4 1926. 1,583,007 7 A. w. RAM

DI SPENS I NG APPARATUS.

Filed April 28. 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 inventor May 4, 1926. 1,583,007

A. w. RAM

DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed April 28. 1925 ZSheets-Sheet 2 Patented May' 4, 1926.

UNITED STATES ALFRED W. RAM, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

DISPENSING APPARATUS.

- Application filed April 28, 1925. Serial No. 26,497.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED W. RAM, a

' citizen of the United States, residing in the city of lVashington, District of Columbia, have invented a certain new and' useful Improvement in Dispensing Apparatus, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to dispensing apparatus, and particularly to apparatus for dispensing beverages such as orange juice, or, as it is called, orange beverage, and other beverages which it is desirable to agitate, to.

the end that matter forming a part thereof and naturally separating from the main body of the liquid may be distributed throughout the body of the liquid prior to and during the dispensing operation.

The object of the invention is, therefore, to provide a dispensing apparatus which, in use, will agitate the liquid dispensed, and will, moreover, aerate such liquid.

The invention consists in a dispensing apparatus, comprising essentially a receptacle for the liquid to be dispensed, a drawofi" faucet for said receptacle, and faucetcontrolled means associated with said receptacle for agitating the contents of the receptacle prior to and during the dispensing operation, as I will proceed now to explain and finally claim.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention, in the several figures of which like parts are similarly designated, Figure 1 is a perspective View of the apparatus of my invention. Fig. 2 is a central vertical section of the apparatus, upon a larger scale; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sec-- tional elevation taken substantially on the line 33 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the draw-off faucet and the switch associated therewith and operated thereby. Fig. 5 is a top view of the lower disk of the switch, and Fig. 6 is an inverted view of the upper disk of the switch.

The apparatus includes a cabinet 1 formed preferably of sheet metal and of double-wall formation, as indicated at 2 (Fig. 2), the space between the walls being filled with a non-heat transmitting or heat-insulating material 3, such as ground cork. The topof the cabinet is provided with a cover formed in three parts as indicated at 4 and 5, 5 (Fig, 1), this cover having stifl'ening members 6 (Fig. 2) of wood or the like, and a tiller 6 of ground cork.

The front wall 7 of the cabinet is provided with an opening 8 having a pane of glass 9 secured therein against suitable beads 10 by means of a removable inverted U-shaped retaining strip 11 of springy material, such as brass, provided with pins 12 which may be sprung into and out of suitable sockets 13 in the walls of the opening.

Mounted within the cabinet, and adjacent to the front wall thereof, and to the pane of glass 9, is a liquid receptacle 14 preferably of glass, or other transparent material, rigidly connected with the bottom 15 of the cabinet by means of an outlet nipple 16 secured in an opening 17 in the bottom of the receptacle 14 by means of a nut 18 and packing washers 19, and extending downwardly through an opening 20 in the bottom of the cabinet and secured therein by means of a nut 21 and packing Washes 22.

Adjacent to the top and bottom of the glazed opening 8 in the front qf the cabinet are shelf members 23 and 24 provided with arcuate notches 25 and 26 respectively, conforming in curvature to the curvature of the receptacle 14, and against the arcuate faces of which the receptacle fits snugly. These shelf members carry panes of glass 27 and 28 mounted in guiding and retaining strips 27 28' and which abut snugly against the adjacent portions of the receptacle 14. These panes are slidable out of their guiding and retaining strips when the receptacle 14 is removed. By this arrangement, it will be seen that a dead air or insulating space 29 is formed between the pane of glass .9 and the panes of glass 27 and 28, the front curve of the receptacle 14 and the shelf members 23 and 24, the purpose whereof will be explained later.

The receptacle 14 is held in position against the arcuate notches 25 and 26, and is retained in rigid upright position, by means of a band or strap 30 secured by suitable fastening means such as bolts 31 to the shelf member 23.

Mounted upon the portion 4 of the cover, and extending into an opening 32 therein, is an electric motor 33 suitably secured to the cover by a bearing member 34. The armature shaft of the motor 33 is rovided with a coupling-member 35 inwhic is secured a shaft 36 which extends downwardly into the receptacle 14, substantially centrally thereof, and is rovided at its lower end with agitator blades 37 Also mounted upon the portion 4 of the cover, and extending into an opening 38 therein, is an electric lamp socket 39 provided with a lamp 40 and reflecting shade 41, by means of which the interior of the cabinet and the receptacle 14 and its contents may be suitably illuminated. The socket 39 is carried in a removable closure member 42 and is bodily removable therewith from the opening 38, thus providing a fi ling opening for the receptacle 14.

All of the interior space of the cabinet surrounding the receptacle 14 furnishes a heat exchange or ice-containing and refrigcrating compartment the ice with which same is filled being visible through the opening 8 in the front of the compartment as indicated in Fig. 1, and lending to the attractive and cold appearance of the liquid contained in the receptacle 14.

It is to prevent impairing of the transparency of the glass 9 which might follow undue sweating or accumulation or condensation of moisture upon the glass. that the dead air space 29, hereinbefore referred to, is provided. But a certain amount of condensation upon the glass 9 will enhance the cold appearance desired, and in order to provide for drainage from the pane of such moisture as collects thereon, I provide the glass retaining portion or head 1.0 of the shelf 24 with a plurality of drainage openings 43 communicating with the interior of the cabinet.

A drain pipe 44 and drain cook 45 are provided in the bottom 15 of the cabinet for drawing off excess water formed by the melting of the ice with which the compartment is filled.

Connected with the nipple ltiis an outlet pipe 46 joined by an elbow 47 with a drawotf pipe 48 to which is applied the draw-off faucet 49.

This draw-off faucet has a plug valve 50 (Fig. 4) upon the stem 51 of which is mounted a disk 52 of insulating material arranged to turn with the valve. And upon the body of the faucet is mounted a stationary disk 53, also of insulating material, and complemental to the disk 52. These two disks 52 and 53 and their adjuncts, later described, constitute the control switch for the motor 33. A handle 54 is provided for turning the valve 50, and with it the disk 52.

Mounted upon the back 55 of the cabinet is a conduit 56 in which is arranged a pair of electric cables, one of which, 57, is adapted to supply current to the lamp 40, and the other of which, 58, supplies current to the motor 33. Electric current is supplied to the cables 57 and 58 through an ordinary separable plug connection 59 and cable 60,

- which latter may be connected with a suitable sourceof current.

The circuits of the lamp and motor are so divided at the plug 59, that the lamp is constantly in circuit with the source of current and may be lighted and extinguished by means of the socket key 61 in the usual manner. The motor circuit, however, is controlled by means of the valve 50 of the faucet49 and its switch.

Contact terminals 62 and 63 (Figs. 4 and 5) are carried by the disk 53, and are provided with binding posts 64 and 65 respec tively to which the wires (36 and 67 of the circuit of motor 33 are connected respectively. The disk 52 is provided with an arcuate plate or contact member 68 adapted to he constantly in contact with one of the terminals 62 or 63 and to be moved into contact with the other of said terminals upon movement of the valve 50 during the dispensing operation to establish a circuit through themotor 33 to thereby agitate the liquid contents of the receptacle 14 through the medium of the shaft 36 and agitator l-lades 37.

It will be apparent, by reference to Fig. 4. that a very slight valve opening movement of the handle 54 in the direction of the arrow will be sufficient to establish a circuit through the motor 33 by bringing the areaate plate or contact member 68 into circuit closing position with respect to both of the terminals 62 and 63, and that the movement suflicient to thus close the circuit is not sufficient to open the valve to permit the drawing off of the contents of the receptacle 14. This provides for agitation of the contents of the receptacle 14 before any of such con tents can escape therefrom through the faucet 49. Continued movement of the handle 54 in the direction of the arrow will open the valve and will permit drawing off of the contents of the receptacle through the faucet 49, but, it will be seen that during such dravn'ng ofl' operation, agitation of the COIItQIll'S of the receptacle will be continued due to the fact that the motor circuit is still closed through the terminals ()2 and 63 and the arctiate plate (38.

Obviously when a suflicieut quantity of the contents of the receptacle 14 has been drawn off through the faucet 49, and the valve has been closed by return of the ham dle 54 to the position shown in Fig. 4, the motor circuit will again be opened and agitation of the contents ofthe receptacle 14 will cease.

Due to the relative arrangement of the contact terminals 62 and 63 and the arcuate plate or contact member 68, the valve handle 54 may be'closed either to the left, as shown in Fig. 4, or to the right, without in any way changing the-mode of operation of the switch embodied in these parts, and. therefore the apparatus is adapted for use by either a right-handed or left-handed op erator without in any way changing its mode of operation, or impairing its efficiency.

The portions 5 of the cover of the cabinet are provided with handles 68 by which they may be easily removed, so that the compartment within the cabinet and surrounding the receptacle 14: may be filled with ice. The whole of the cover, including the portions 4 and 5 may be removed, if desired, for

cleansing purposes or repairs or replacements, and in order to facilitate removal of the portion 4, I provide separable plugs or connectors 69 and 70 for the cables 57 and 58 respectively.

It will thus be seen that I provide an apparatus, adapted particularly for dispensing beverages, which is not only attractive in appearance, due to the exposure through the glazed opening 8 of the contents of the receptacle 14, and the ice surrounding the same, but which has the marked advantage not found in other apparatus of a similar nature with which I am familiar, of agitating the contents of the receptacle 14: not only prior to the drawing off of such contents, but also during such drawing 01f, whereby no settling of solid matter contained in the liquid dispensed is possible during the drawing-0E operation, and the dispensing of a liquid of uniformquantity is made possible so long as any of such liquid remains in the receptacle in contact with the agitating blades 37. v

Moreover, the entire apparatus is so constructed that all of its parts are readily accessible for cleansing purposes, for removal, and for: replacement.

Various changes in the apparatus are contemplated as within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the following claims.

What I claim is 1. An apparatus for dispensing liquids comprising a liquid receptacle provided with a draw-01f faucet, and faucet-controlled means for agitating the liquid contained in said receptacle prior to and during the draw-off operation.

2. An apparatus for dispensing liquids, comprising a liquid receptacle provided with a draw-off faucet, a motor-operated agitator arranged for agitating the contents of said receptacle, and a switch carried by said faucet and in circuit with said motor for energizing said motor in response to opening movement of said faucet for agitating the contents of the receptacle prior to and during the drawing-oft operation.

3. An apparatus for dispensing liquids, comprising a cabinet containing a heat-exchange compartment, a liquid receptacle provided with a draw-off faucet, an agitator arranged in said receptacle and operating directly upon the contents of the receptacle, a motor mounted upon the cabinet and carrying the agitator, and means interposed.

. between the motor and faucet and operatively controlled by the opening of the fancet to render the agitator effective to stir the contents of the receptacle during the entire period in which the faucet is open.

4. An apparatus for dispensing liquids, comprising a cabinet containing an ice-con taining compartment, a liquid receptacle provided with adraw-ofl faucet, an agitator arranged in said receptacle and operating directly upon the contents of the receptacle, an electric motor mounted upon the cabinet and carrying the agitator, and means interposed between the motor and faucet and operatively controlled by the opening of the faucet to render the agitator effective to stir the contents of the receptacle during the entire period in which the faucet is open, said means comprising an electric switch of which the faucet handle is the operative element, and circuit wires connecting the switch and motor.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 28th day of April A. D. 1925.

ALFRED W. RAM. 

